Microsoft promises Windows Phone Store will rival iOS and Android by end of 2014

Microsoft has promised the Windows Phone Store will have an app library to rival iOS and Android by the end of 2014.

Windows Phone Store lags way behind the app availability of the iOS App Store and Android Google Play Store, which has always been a sore point for the platform.

Of course, the Windows Phone store does have the staple apps like Facebook and Twitter, and this week finally received its own Instagram app but still lacks the sheer volume available on rival platforms.

However, Vice President and Manager for Windows Phone Program Management Joe Belfiore, took to Twitter to announce that the store will be a proper Google Play and App Store rival by the end of next year.

“We’re all gonna look back on the end of 2014 as the ending of the app-gap for Windows Phone. The 3rd ecosystem is decidedly here!”tweeted Belfiore.

We’re not sure quite how Microsoft aims to boost its app library by that point, but it will be an interesting thing to watch over the next 12 months.

Although Windows Phone is probably already the third ecosystem behind Android and iOS as it is more popular than BlackBerry, it definitely can't yet equal the service offered by the competition.

“I think it is fair to say Windows Phone is the third ecosystem,” explained Bryan Biniak, Nokia’s Vice President and GM of Developer Experience. “We started with about 7,000 applications several years ago, now we have 175,000 applications in the store, but more importantly what we are seeing is the trajectory of device sales growing quarter after quarter.”Next, read our Windows Phone 8 tips and tricks.